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David Lee to Sign 1-year Deal

The [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] expect to sign restricted free agent [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] to a one-year contract at some point after Labor Day, officials familiar with the talks said Friday.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh said he doesn't think a Lee sign-and-trade is possible. Even though the Knicks like Lee, Walsh said he is not interested in signing the forward to a long-term contract at this point; he wants to maintain as much payroll flexibility as possible for next summer, when [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and other prominent players will be free agents.
"We can't get a deal" for Lee, Walsh said.
Contract discussions are expected to heat up next week. Many league officials think the deal will fall in the $6 million-to-$8 million range, but the two sides will exchange more concrete numbers soon. Lee could be rewarded more generously since it will be just a one-year contract.
The only way the deal with Lee wouldn't get done is if another team offers the Knicks a sign-and-trade scenario for a player the Knicks like at least as much as Lee and who still allows for future financial flexibility.
No sign-and-trades have materialized at this point, and Walsh doesn't expect any. There is also a good chance that guard [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] will return to the Knicks on a one-year deal as well, Walsh said.

Despite published reports to the contrary, sources close to David Lee are telling HOOPSWORLD that the free agent forward is not close to signing a one-year deal with the New York Knicks.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] that Lee would be agreeing to a deal in the near future, but that wait may be longer than expected.

As Marchand mentioned, Lee is probably looking at a contract between $6 and $8 million. There aren't many viable suitors to sign the Florida-product at the moment and, as Knicks president Donnie Walsh has stated, a sign-and-trade is highly unlikely.

While the stalemate appears to be continuing, it's worth noting some reasons Lee was rumored to be seeking as much as eight figures per season.

In 2007-2008, Lee's rebounding rate was a respectable 17.5 as he played around 29 minutes per game. Last season, despite playing around five minutes more per contest, Lee's rebounding rate actually grew to 18.4 (he finished the year averaging 11.8 rpg).

His offense is even more intriguing. Lee averaged 16 ppg last season despite his laughably low usage rate (17.6). Unlike former Knicks power forward Zach Randolph (25.7 usg), Lee doesn't dominate the ball. That means his points generally don't come at the expense of his teammates'.

Lee has improved every season and appeared in 81 games each of the last two years. It may not happen this summer, but one day Lee should get the deal he's looking for.

I really hope lee signs. Even though his defense is not up to par, his scoring and rebounding is needed. I hope he sign's that 1 year contract and then we can take it from there. Also his defense was pointed out because he played center when he's a pf. He was guarding players that were much bigger in size which made him look like a poor defender. Another thing is we need someone to come in and emphasize DEFENSE. I honestly would bring in Oakley if he's really wants to come here to bring aggressiveness to this team. Why doesn't Donnie get on D'Antoni's back about playing defense more or get someone like a defensive coordinator to come in to teach our players to become better defenders. We have the scoring ability but it's our defense that loses games for us.

Well go check his stats for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. D'Antoni has only been the coach for one season and D Lee's stats only went up 3.1 points from the season before. I agree that yes Diaw and Marion's stats did get elevated by playing under D'Antoni but they did have talent and so does Lee. Not every single player who plays for D'Antoni will be better players. But back to the point Lee's scoring was there way before and yes we can use his scoring and rebounding.